Nikon Sport Optics for Hunters & Shooters

by Jeff Quinn

photography by Jeff Quinn & Boge Quinn

January 10th, 2008

Nikon is a legendary name in the world of
photography and industrial lens applications. Their Nikkor
lenses have earned the respect of professional photographers all
over the world, and their professional cameras are tough and
reliable. Nikon is a huge global corporation, but a few years
ago, they entered the world of sport optics, marketing
binoculars, spotting scopes, riflescopes, rangefinders and such
for birdwatchers, sports spectators, and hunters. I have seen
Nikon scopes around for several years, but until recently,
hadnít really seriously used any of their scopes or other
products, with the exception of photography equipment.

A few months ago, I tried my first Nikon
riflescope, and it proved to be both reliable and optically
clear. That scope was one of their Buckmaster line, and I
mounted it atop a Ruger .358 Winchester Hawkeye, and gave
it a workout. While the Buckmaster is an affordable scope,
priced right in line with other moderately-priced quality scopes
like the Leupold Rifleman (which is also a very good
scope), the Buckmaster provides clear optics and reliable
settings, along with Nikonís Bullet Drop Compensating (BDC)
reticle. The BDC allows hunters to hold right on target with no
guess work, as long as the hunter knows the distance to the
target. The BDC reticle has a series of circular aiming points,
and the hunter simply holds on the proper circle, and presses
the trigger.

While on the subject of knowing the distance to
the target, which is very important on longer shots, I have been
using a Nikon rangefinder for several months now. Nikon makes
quite a few different models, but the one that I have here has a
1200 yard range, which is very useful to long-range shooters. A
hunter has no business shooting that far, but target shooters
can do so reliably, knowing the distance to the target. Even at
300 yards, being off on the estimation by just a few yards will
mean the difference between a good hit and a wounded animal, so
I make it a point to know the distance before pulling the
trigger on game. The Nikon rangefinder is lightweight, compact,
and easy to use, being much smaller than my old Bushnell
600 yard rangefinder. Lasering to known ranges, I found the
Nikon rangefinder to be spot-on reliable, and I highly recommend
it, whether you need the 1200 yard model or one of the other
models, they are all reasonably priced. The Monarch Gold 1200
model that I have has seven-power magnification, and is very
simple to use. Some rangefinders get too complicated for me. The
Nikon is not. Turn it on, sight the target, and press one
button. Simple. The range to target is displayed in large, easy
to read numbers. The Gold 1200 reads distances from 11 yards out
to 1200 yards, and can also display the distance in meters, if
preferred. It weighs about ten ounces, and comes with a belt
case for easy portability.

The last Nikon scope that I have been using
lately is their Monarch 4 to 16 power with side focus. I really
like the side focus design on the Monarch. It is pulled out to
focus, and then can be pressed in to lock it in place. That is a
good feature. The Monarch also has the BDC reticle, and it is
built on a one-piece aluminum tube, and guaranteed waterproof
and shockproof. The main feature of the Monarch that
distinguishes itself from most competitive scopes is the
four-power magnification. Most variable scopes have only an
approximate three-power magnification, such as 3 to 9 or 4 to
12, but the Monarch has four-power magnification range, such as
this 4 to 16 power. That offers a lot more versatility on the
lower end for closer targets, and more magnification at the
upper end for distant targets. The Monarch has very clear
optics, and the reticle adjustments work with precision, and
have held their settings perfectly in my tests. The power
adjuster works smoothly, and is easy to use, even while wearing
gloves. I mounted the Monarch atop an ArmaLite
AR 180B in ArmaLiteís mount, where it performed very
well. The Monarch has Nikonís lifetime warranty, and is a lot
of scope for the money. On a good, bright day, even a cheap
scope from a discount store looks great while peering through
it. However, at dawn and dusk, when most game appears, a quality
scope makes all the difference. The Monarch is a quality scope.